Space Marine’s actually a fair bit more interesting once it opens up. The chainsword and power axe have much flashier attacks, and the different stun attacks do have various properties (the power axe has a ground slam one that stuns in an AOE, which is invaluable!). I personally found the dodge much more useful against ranged attacks than in close combat – it’s a very different kind of game than other beat’em’ups, a bit of a mishmash.

I hadn’t noticed the “getting hit from behind” thing, good call there, although enemies do generally crowd around you so it’s kind of to be expected. The game’s harder than it looks; you die easily, and the trick appears to be to make sure you’re always on the offensive by mixing ranged and melee attacks, especially the Vengeance launcher, which plants remote-detonated mines. The Orks will happily surround you otherwise, and without much by way of defence you get crushed unless you crush them first. Executions are actually your only way of regaining health, and you’re a bit vulnerable coming out of them, so they’re a bit less OP than appears at first glance.